1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an audio jack, and particularly to an audio jack having a side mount grounding terminal for engaging with an audio plug.
2. Description of Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 6,056,602 discloses a conventional audio jack 9 with a top loading grounding terminal 92 shown in FIG. 6. The grounding terminal 92 has a center portion 923, an elongate portion 920 inwardly extending from an upper edge of the center portion 923, and a solder pad 921 outwardly extending from a lower edge of the center portion 923. A stepped engaging portion 922 ends from the elongate portion 920. The grounding terminal 92 is adapted to be mounted to a body 90 with the center portion 923 received in a first fixing groove 902 and the elongate portion 920 received in a second fixing groove 903. The engaging portion 922 of the grounding terminal 92 extends into an opening 904 in a top wall 900 of the body 90 for contacting a corresponding portion of an inserted audio plug (not shown) for grounding. The opening 904 is defined at the junction of a front wall 901 and a sleeve 91 projecting from the front wall 901. Therefore, the opening 904 reduces the strength of the front wall 901 and the sleeve 91. When the audio plug is frequently inserted into or pulled out of the audio jack, the sleeve 91 and the body 90 must bear certain stress. Accordingly the sleeve 91 is easy to break after repeated insertions of the audio plug or especially when a vertical force is applied thereto due to the position of the opening 904.
Therefore, an audio jack having a side mount grounding terminal is desired to increase the strength of a sleeve thereof.
Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to provide an audio jack for receiving an audio plug, the audio jack having a side mount grounding terminal for increasing the strength of a sleeve thereof.
In order to achieve the object set forth, an audio jack of the present invention comprises an insulative casing inside which a plurality of conductive terminals and a grounding terminal are disposed. The casing has a front face, a rear face, a pair of opposite side faces, and a bottom wall defining a recess in an inner side thereof. An interior space is defined in the casing. The front face has a sleeve formed thereon and defined a channel in communication with the interior space for receiving a pin of a mating plug for audio signals transmission. One side face of the casing defines a window communicated with the interior space via the recess and a slit communicated with the window. The grounding terminal comprises a horizontal plate portion received in the slit, an upwardly extending contact portion extending through the window and projecting into the interior space through the recess, and a solder pad for being mounted on a printed circuit board.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.